Glowing Coals
by Abadeer666
Summary: Bubblegum asks Marceline to spy on Flame P, but unintended consequences ensue.
1. The Job

_You ever read a love story? Two lost souls find each other, lots of kissing, that shit? Well, if you have you know there isn't always a Disney happily-ever-after at the end. So if you like those you might as well find another story._

_The story I got starts with Miss Bonnibel Bubblegum, Queen of the Immediate World, asking me to do some recon work for her. I was in the graveyard the other night, working on a new ballad when she shows up and says, "Marceline...?"_

_"The one and only."_

_"Uhm, I need your help with something."_

_"What can I do you for?" Her pink cheeks flushed pinker._

_"Well, I'd, uhm, appreciate it if you could... Find out more about Flame Princess. And her... relationship with Finn." I smirked._

_"As in, does Finn have a pair of lips burnt into his-" PB looked like she was about to cry._

_"Chill, B, I didn't mean it," I said, "I'll scope out your princess, k?" She nodded._

_"Thank you."_

The same night, Flame Princess paced back and forth. Where was Finn? He had said he'd be here by now! Just then her Nokia buzzed. A text from Finn, breaking the date because another quest had come up. She stared uncomprehendingly at the screen. Apparently their anniversary was no match for his heroic nature. The princess threw her phone at the wall of her room and flopped down on her bed, not looking for stray bats in the corner.

"Finn, why don't you ever have time for me?!" she wondered out loud. Near the ceiling of her room, Marceline had no answer.

_If you know me (which you obviously do), you know I can make myself pretty small when I want to. And it helped that Flame P had some stuff on her mind, so I'm not surprised she didn't see me. I had myself wedged in a corner of her ceiling at the time, watching her mope around the room and try to crack open the wall with her indestructible phone. I was pretty surprised, though, when she started to unzip the back of her dress. Started to, because the zipper got stuck halfway down. She yanked it the rest of the way, adorably frustrated. I would've been lauging if a flippin' sex goddess hadn't suddenly popped up in the middle of the room. The sheer level of hotness could've stopped my heart if- well, you get it. Anyway, I'm stuck in the corner, my face is all hot (which doesn't happen much, I gotta say) and... You guessed it, red lace._

Flame princess was just so f***ing done. She had a sanctuary for times like this, an active volcano at the edge of the kingdom. Changing into a more casual version of her dress, this one deep red and satiny, she set off for a hopefully less disappointing place. Around halfway there she realized she was crying. She reached up to stop the flow of tears but they were already vapor on her cheeks. Walking up to her volcano, she ran her hand along the wall until she found the chunk of quartz that marked a secret entrance. Flame Princess pressed down on it and walked into the heat.


	2. Volcano

_FP burst out of the castle and headed in a random direction. She took a long, zig-zaggy road that went around boulders and over lava pits. I dodged the best I could_

_from a few yards away, but she'd picked a flippin' obstacle course for bats. Since I wasn't confused enough, she then somehow walked into a volcano. What the_

_hell, man? Bonnibel totally owed me one. Anyway, I decide to fly in the top, but there's only one spout and it's skyscraper-tall. I hung over it for a while, trying not_

_to get torched by the jets of steam shooting out. By the time I got in, I really needed a smoke. And since I had no orders not to interact with her... I decided to_

_make a decision._

She sat on a boulder in the center of the cone. Lava burbled sluggishly around her as trails of steam rose from her cheeks. Flame Princess hugged her knees to her

chest and stared at a lump of cooled magma near the mouth. Until it started to float down toward her. She jerked back, eyes wide.

"Chill, FP," said Marceline, in humanoid form, "All I wanted was a light."

_She totally did light me up with a finger. It was awesome._

_"Thanks, Princess," I said. Then I noticed she still had crying-face, so I was like "You okay? Do I have to beat up Finn for making you cry?" That made her cry_

harder_, so I felt like Simon the Ice King trying to be a therapist. I was about to apologize awkwardly when she said, "Does it mean he doesn't like me anymore if he_

_forgot me on our anniversary?"_

_"It means he's an idiot," I said. "And doesn't deserve you."_


	3. Hallmark Moments and Evil Teddy Bears

She stared at Marceline, eyes glowing red and fangs elongated.

"You don't have to be angry for me," she blurted suddenly.

Marceline blushed, noticing her warped features.

"I'm not angry for you," she said slowly, "I'm angry _at... Finn._ Because he swore he'd treat you right and now you're crying in a volcano."

FP looked down.

"You don't have to be... Here, either. How'd you even know?"

_My blood went cold...er. I cracked a piece of stone off our rock and fiddled with it. _

_"Um, a couple people... Remembered, and there was... Like, just, people were saying stuff about you two. And, I- I thought you might wanna talk or something," my voice trailed off at the end. Reeeeeal smooth, Marcy, you idiot. Her eyes narrowed, but she didn't call me on it._

_And then she randomly hugged me._

_"Thanks, though," she said. Her eyes were all sparkly from tears and lava. It was a Hallmark moment._

Flame Princess let go of Marceline and watched her drift upward ("See ya later, Flame P!"). She had no idea what the hell was happening. Why hadn't Finn just let her help with the quest? And why was Marceline, of all people, the cleanup crew? She was shaking her head when she saw the pack of smokes Marceline had left behind. Holding one of the cigarettes awkwardly between her finger and thumb, she poked one end. It flared to life, but when she put it in her mouth like she'd seen the vampire do she lit the other end with her lip. She frowned at the shrinking cigarette and flicked it into the lava. It was probably time to get out of this stupid volcano and change something.

_My first stop was Finn. I found him at a cave in Aaa saving his chick self from... an evil teddy bear?_

_"Finn, what the f***?" I said, "Flame P couldn't help you kill Hambozilla?"_

_"Um, well, it's a personal thing. I mean, if I'm a _girl _here and stuff..."_

_He really did look like Hambo. That was depressing._

_"It might be a personal day, too," I said. "Search your memories..."_

_"I'm a little busy right now!" he yelled, thrown backward by the teddy bear's mysterious powers. I gave up. _

_"Well, soon you should get _un_-busy and stop ignoring your girlfriend!" I yelled over the humming portal to Ooo. "Or somebody'll do it for you..."_

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this one came out a bit late... Feedback always appreciated! Also, I'm just gonna plug my Teletubby/Sharknado fanfic right now... Look for Teletubbies: THE COMING STORM**


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